Naspers buys stake in Russian internet firm

Listed media company Naspers will buy 28,7% of one of Russia’s leading internet firms, it said on Wednesday.

It would purchase the stake in Digital Sky Technologies (DST) in cash and shares, according to a statement.

The company would exchange its 39,3% stake in its Russian unit, Mail.ru, which it co-owned along with DST, and it would also pay a further $388-million for the 28,7% stake.

Naspers comprises a broad-based media group operating in 129 countries. Its principal operations are in internet platforms, pay-television and the provision of related technologies and print media.

The group’s most significant operations are located in emerging markets including South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, China, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Latin America, Russia, Thailand and The Netherlands.—Sapa